Towel-hanger.



J. HALEY.

TOWEL HANGER.

APPLICATIVON man SEPT. a0. 1915.

1,179,003. a Patented Apr. 11,1916.

JAMES HALEY, 0F PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

TOWEL-HANGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 30, 1915. Serial No. 53,307.

To all whom it may concern: 4

Be it known that I, JAMES HALEY, a citizen of the United States, a resident of Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Towel-Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in hanging or supporting devices for articles, such as towels and the like, and is adapted particularly for ordinary household and office use.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of such a device in which a towel or other article may be quickly secured and positively held against unintentional or accidental removal.

A further object of this invention is the provision of such a device which is simple and strong in construction and simple and efficient in operation.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the combination, construction and arrangement of I parts hereinafter described, and then sought to be defined in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and which shows merely for the purpose of illustrative disclosure, a preferred embodiment of my invention, it being understood that various changes may be made ill practice within the scope of the claims, without digressing from my inventive idea.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a front elevation of a device constructed according to my invention, a towel or similar article being indicated in position in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the base or support on which the device is mounted, this being adapted to be suitably mounted in position for use by means of screws, nails or other suitable fastening devices. On this base or support, I secure a wire member 2 which is looped so as to provide pairs of oppositely disposed side members, forming guide-ways for the purpose to be hereinafter described. This wire member which is the holding member of the device, has its ends bent at right angles as at 3, these ends being driven or inserted into the body of the base or support 1. The wire member extends upwardly from these ends a considerable distance and then is bent over as at 4, to form a hook, the end 5 of the loop being disposed adjacent the ends 3 of the wire member. The upwardly extending portions 6 between the ends 3 and the bend 4, are inclined so that an inclined guide-way is provided, whereby the space between the rear members of the wire holding devices and the front members is lessened toward the bottom.

Mounted'in the guide-ways provided by the two portions of this wire holding member is a rolling weight 6 in the form of a ball, which is normally held in the lower portion thereof, by means of gravity, the

space between the two guide-ways being less.

than the diameter of the rolling weight so as to prevent its accidental displacement in its lowermost position. As a matter of fact, the two guide-ways are always close enough together to retain the rolling weight therein so as to prevent its loss. This rolling weight engages the side members of both guideways, that is, adjacent the loop and adjacent the ends 3. In connection with this holding member, I also provide the stop or abutment 7, which extends outwardly from the plate 8 which is positioned on the lower portion of the base or support 1 and has the openings 9 through which the ends 3 of the wire member 2are driven. The stop or abutment 7 projects upwardly between the spaced member's forming the rear guide-way and extends a slight distance beyond the said members. I also provide a securing plate 10 for the upper portion of the device, which takes the form of the three-armed member, the arms extending between the bent portion 4 of the wire member on either side thereof and being secured on the base or support 1 by means of screws or the like.

The operation of this device is exceedingly simple and when it is desired to attach a towel or other article in position, the rolling weight is pushed back a short distance and the article placed on the rear guide-way. When the rolling weight is released, it immediately descends, due to the influence of gravity and engages the outer face of the towel or other article. This may readily be done in one operation as the article will push the weight out of the way so as to enable it to assume its proper position. Any pulling on said article securely wedges it in position, due to the rolling weight, and decrease in the size of the space between the two guide-ways and also due to Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

' the pull, the more eflicient the gripping action between these parts to hold the article in position.. When it is desired to remove the same, the rolling weight is pushed back and the article readily withdrawn.

The holding member is preferably made of wire, which is sufliciently resilient to give the proper action to these various parts.

The device is simple, attractive in appearance and very eflicient in operation, making a desirable article as stated above, for household and oflice'use.

It is obvious that the device may readily accommodate articles of various widths.

Vhat I claim:

1. A device of the character described including in combination, a base or support, a wire holding member secured thereto in the form of a loop, said looped wire being bent to provide a-pair of oppositely disposed and spaced guide-ways, said guide-ways being arranged so that the space between them is less at the lower end than at the top and a rolling weight loosely mounted in said wire holding member and adapted to engage both guide-ways at their lower ends to hold an article between itself and one of said guideways.

2. A device of the character described including in combination, a base or support, a wire holding member secured thereto in the form of a loop, said looped wire being bent to provide a pair of oppositely disposed and spaced guide-ways, said guide-ways being arranged so that the space between them is less at the lower end than at the top and a rolling weight loosely mounted in said wire holding member and adapted to engage both guide-ways at their lower ends to hold an article between itself and one of said guideways, and a stop located near the lower end of one of saidguide-ways to limit the movement of said rolling weight.

3. A device of the character described, including in combination, a base or support, a one-piece wire holding member made in the form of a loop with the side members parallel to each other, said loop member being bent upon itself so that the loop is positioned adjacent the free ends of the wire member and so that the side members are parallel to each other to form a pair of spaced guideways, the member being bent so that one of said guide-ways is inclined relative to the other, so that the space therebetween is less at one end than at the other, a rolling weight member positioned between said guide-ways and adapted to engage and hold an article against one of said guide-ways.

4. A device of the character described, including in combination, a base or support, a one-piece wire holding memberlmade in the form of a loop with the side members parallel to each other, said loop member being bent upon itself so that the loop is positioned adjacent the free ends of the wire member and so that the side members are parallel to each other to form a pair of spaced guideways, the member being bent so that one of said guide-ways is inclined relative to the other, so that the space therebetween is less at one end than at the other, a rolling weight member positioned between said guide-ways and adapted to engage and hold an article against one of said guide-ways, and a stop member located near the lower end of one of said guide-ways and extending outwardly between the spaced portions of the wire forming said guide-way to cooperate with the rolling weight member to hold an article in position.

5. A device of the character described including in combination, a base or support, a one-piece wire holding member bent in the form of a loop and having its free ends bent at an angle and attached to said base or support, said wire holding member being bent on itself so that the loop is located adjacent said bend of the free ends whereby a pair of oppositely disposed and spaced guide-ways is provided, said guide-ways being a less distance apart at their lower ends than at their upper, and a, rolling weight memberv positioned between said guide-ways and adapted to engage and hold an article against the lower end portion of one of said guide-ways.

JAMES HALEY. 

